Download Lesson 4 The Cold War

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CHAPTER 11, LESSON 4
Summary: The Cold War
Roots of the Cold War
The United States and the Soviet Union worked together to
win World War II. Differences between the countries pushed
them apart after the war. The countries had different ideas
about economics and government. Americans live under
capitalism. They have a market economy. Americans have a
democratic government. They vote for their leaders. Soviets
lived under communism. They did not choose their leaders.
Soviets did not have much freedom.
By 1947, the Soviet Union and the United States were in
a Cold War. This was a war of words and ideas. When World
War II ended, the Allies shared control of Germany. The
Soviet Union controlled the eastern half. The United States,
Britain, and France controlled the western half. The capital
city was divided. The Soviets controlled East Berlin. The
Allies controlled West Berlin.
The Soviet Union created communist governments in
Eastern Europe. Winston Churchill said an “iron curtain”
divided Europe. The curtain was not real. It was a symbol of
the differences between communist and non-communist
countries. In 1949, the United States, Canada, Britain, and
most of the non-communist European countries formed the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. It wanted to
keep the Soviets from forcing nations to be communist.
Conflicts in Europe Grow
Soviets blocked the roads and railroads to West Berlin in
1948. The United States and Britain broke this blockade.
Airplanes took food and supplies to people trapped in West
Berlin. This was called the Berlin Airlift. Many people from
East Berlin escaped to West Berlin during the 1950s. In 1961,
the Soviets began to build a wall. It divided East Berlin and
West Berlin. It was called the Berlin Wall.
Find and underline each
vocabulary word.
capitalism noun, when
ordinary people and
businesses control the
production of goods and
services
market economy
individuals and
businesses make most
economic decisions
communism noun, a
government that controls
production and owns the
nation’s natural and
capital resources.
REVIEW What area did
the Soviet Union take
control of after World War
II? Circle the sentence that
tells which half of Germany
the Soviet Union controlled.
Then underline the sentence
that tells which countries
controlled the other half.
REVIEW In what way did
the United States and
Britain help end the
blockade of Berlin? How
did the United States and
Britain help the people
trapped in West Berlin?
Circle the sentence that tells
you the answer.
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Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Use with United States History, pp. 384–387